Hello Everyone!
In today’s topic, we will continue to talk about the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. From the past blog posts, I’ve talked about my green light, conflicts in the book, and the characters’ personality. Today, I will be discussing a specific theme in the novel: The decline of the American Dream.
If you didn’t read the book or still wondering what the main theme of the book is, a major theme is the decline of the American dream. To start things off, let me define what the American dream is. The American dream can be interpreted with many meanings, but in my definition, it means that anyone in the United States can have equal opportunity, and will most likely succeed as long as you try. There are many aspects that reveal the decline of the American Dream. Some instances would include how through hard work does not mean success and how to believe having money and possession is more important than business success. From the book, there are several key characters that represent the decline of the American Dream.
Jay Gatsby
The best example that reflects the decline of the American dream is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s main purpose and goal were to acquire Daisy’s love and win her from Tom. He was so motivated with the goal that he tried to become wealthy through criminal activities. He used the money that he earned to create a wealthy image of himself in hopes of catching Daisy’s attention. Despite all this work to earn Daisy, he does not realize that all was done to chase for an unachievable goal. A quote to describe this is “He stretches out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and as far as I am from him I can swear he is trembling. Involuntarily, I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might be the end of the dog” (Fitzgerald 1). Here, Nick believes that Gatsby’s efforts are going to be fruitless and shows that he is chasing an empty goal. As the book plays out, Daisy still chose Tom over Gatsby despite the massive wealth Gatsby gained. This clearly shows that as optimistic as one can be with the American Dream, it does not mean certain success. At least he tried right?
Tom Buchanan and George Wilson
Tom Buchmann’s status and actions show how money and possessions are more important than achieving business success. Tom is an upper-classman who is an extremely rich person and enjoys the wealth passed on from his ancestors without any “personal success”. Tom is so rich that he was described as “played polo and rich together”. (Fitzgerald 1) Instead of using his current wealth to achieve more success, he uses the money for his own satisfaction. Tom did the exact opposite of the American Dream. Instead of working hard to achieve more success, he enjoys life by spending money that he inherited. This instance shows that his money and possessions’ is more important than business success, and therefore corrupts the picture the American Dream. Also, the American Dream states that everyone should “equal opportunity” to achieve success, but people like Tom are born with an immense amount of wealth and are already “successful” in terms of wealth. Unlike Tom, George Wilson belongs in the working class, who did not inherit any wealth and relies on his garage business in hopes of having a successful family. However, it all crashes down when his business isn’t achieving any monetary success and his wife, Myrtle Wilson, is having an affair with Tom. This pretty up sums up how unfair “equal opportunity” actually is and shows how corrupt the American Dream is.
Myrtle Wilson
Lastly, the decline of the American Dream is also shown through Myrtle Wilson. In the book, it can be interpreted that the reason Myrtle is having an affair with Tom is that she wants to gain financial success through his relationship with him. Instead of actually working hard to achieve financial success, she decides to use a social taboo: cheating. Also, back in chapter 2, during the party, when Myrtle yells, “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai –– ” Tom broke her nose with his open hand(Fitzgerald 2). Adding on to cheating, she was willing to be Tom’s mistress even when she gets harmed. This shows how the American Dream has been tainted that anyone would cheat and suffer physical beatings as a route to financial success.
Death
Finally, the characters who had the American Dream: Jay Gatsby, George Wilson, and Myrtle Wilson suffered tragic deaths at the end of the book. Death is a symbolism for how a particular concept is flawed or dead. In this book’s case, the deaths of characters who had an American Dream shows that the American Dream is a corrupted concept.
Do you know any more examples regarding the decline of the American Dream? If yes, leave a comment down below! See you next time!